1. Math Stations How to Improve Problem-Solving Skills & Incorporate Differentiated Learning into Math Classrooms

2. What’s your biggest challenge as a teacher? Time Responding to an increasingly broad spectrum of student needs, backgrounds, and learning styles Differentiating

3. Differentiated Instruction Enables teachers to reach the needs of diverse learners Activities based on essential concepts and multiple ways to display learning Challenging and engaging tasks for all learners Provides opportunities for students to work in varied instructional formats Meets curriculum standards and requirements

4. Why Use Math Stations? Stations is a strategy that allows students to work on an ongoing assignment directly relating to the curriculum Can be independent throughout a unit or semester Logical extension of learning during a unit Extension work and intervention needs can be met with the use of stations

5. Purpose of Math Stations Provide meaningful work for students to work at their own level of learning Used to differentiate on the basis of student readiness, interest, and learning profiles Allows students to work more in depth with concepts to enrich their skill development Can be used as a management strategy for working with smaller groups Can be used as an opportunity to make a classroom more student centered

6. Questions to think about before creating Math Stations

7. How do I decide what concepts to include in my stations? Basic / Pre-requisite Skills Enrichment Skills – use the 6H to 7H correlation and extension maps (county created) MSA review materials Problem Solving Activities that incorporate several concepts

8. How much time do I allow students to work on the stations? Teacher discretion based on time Once a week for 45 minutes For those Fast Finishers

9. Differentiate based on student needs Per Unit / Semester – students have certain stations they must cover but can complete in any order as long as they turn in required stations How much choice do the students have on what topic they work on?

10. Know your students modality and learning preferences, ability and readiness, interests Differentiate Be flexible How to meet the needs of all students?

11. STATIONSSTATIONS

12. How to run the stations? Locate stations in different spots in the classroom Frequent or occasional, formal or informal Flexible grouping/time – not all students need to go to all stations for the same amount of time

13. Possible Station Topics Problem Solving Stations Geo Boards Time Data & Probability Decimals, Fractions, & Percents Estimation The Travel Game

14. Planning your stations What are your learning objectives? Start Simply: One of the stations should be familiar and an all class activity Emphasize student responsibility Is the time flexible or fixed? Each station should have a recording sheet What is the plan if a student gets stuck?

15. Differentiating Stations Vary the particular operations Vary the degree of difficulty of activities based on students strengths and needs Complexity, duration, group composition, and skills required

16. Management Tips Explain the activity, model and practice with whole class Take 10 minutes to introduce 1 station per day before beginning Be clear on expectations – establish a clear policy for accountability, evaluation and value Develop the ground rules with the students

17. Station Assessment Check recording sheets 1x a week Check student folders every 2 weeks for completed activities Some stations – students may check with an answer sheet and write a comment on how they did and what they learned

18. Station Folders 1 folder per student Every folder has: –4 step Problem Solving Plan4 step Problem Solving Plan –Math stations record sheetMath stations record sheet –Question sheetQuestion sheet

19. Another Version of Stations Use your school resources – IAs, Math Specialist, Special Educators, etc. May use one or all Create a rotation of “Stations,” which each participating member does curriculum –Example: Math Classroom Teacher: New Content Material Special Education Teacher: IEP Goals / Basic Review Math Specialist: Extension from previous content IA – Independent station – practice

20. Station Ideas: Math & Literature Connections Map Skills Geoboards Estimation # Sense Math & Art Basic Skills (+, -, x, /) Time Graphs Place Value Problem Solving Geometry Data & Probability Fractions World Tour

21. Contact Information Kristen Wolf New Market Middle School Email: Kristen.wolf@fcps.orgKristen.wolf@fcps.org Website: http://www.fcpsteach.org/hp/usersites/kr isten_wolf/New_Market_Middle_School_ Math_/NMMS/ http://www.fcpsteach.org/hp/usersites/kr isten_wolf/New_Market_Middle_School_ Math_/NMMS/ http://nmms.sites.fcps.org/kristenwolf

22. Let’s Try Some: The Travel Game Decimals In between game (Investigations game – adapted for MS) MSA Lesson Leap Frog – Problem Solving Probability with Dice Crossmatics